003.  FUNCTIONS

Section 1.    Legislative

The Board is sincere in its desire to seek out the judgment and counsel of its citizens, students, and staff members in the development of policies prior to final adoption. The Community Relation and Policy Committee shall make policy recommendations to the Board.

      SC 301, 407, 510,

            511

The Board shall exercise its rule-making power by adopting Board procedures and policies for the organization and operation of the school district. Those procedures and policies which are not dictated by the statutes, or regulations of the State Board, or ordered by a court of competent authority may be adopted, amended or repealed at any meeting of the Board, provided the proposed adoption, amendment or repeal has been proposed at a previous Board meeting and has remained on the agenda of each succeeding Board meeting until approved or rejected; changes in a proposed Board procedure or policy, except for minor editorial revisions, at the second reading shall cause that reading to constitute a first reading. The Board may, upon a majority vote, cause to suspend at any time the operation of a Board procedure or policy, provided the suspension does not conflict with legal requirements; such suspension shall be effective until the next meeting of the Board, unless an earlier time is specified in the motion to suspend.

Board procedures shall be adopted, amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of the full Board.

      Pol. 006

Board policies shall be adopted, amended or repealed by a majority vote of the full Board.

      Pol. 007

The adoption, modification, repeal or suspension of a Board procedure or policy shall be recorded in the minutes of the Board meeting. All current procedures and policies shall be maintained in the Board Policy Manual and disseminated appropriately.

Section 2.    The People And The District

The public schools belong to the people. The Board of School Directors of the Reading School District is mindful that people are the ultimate governors of public education. The Board of School Directors is also alert to the concept that they are directly accountable to the public through the elective process. However, the Board of School Directors firmly believes that accountability is a shared partnership involving students, teachers, other employees, administrative staff, and the Superintendent of Schools.

Section 3.    Expectations And Beliefs

The Board of School Directors asserts these following expectations and beliefs:

a.      Students should be trained at home and by the schools in order that they will learn to hold themselves accountable for their own lives, actions, and decisions as maturing members of a democratic society.

b.     Teachers should hold students accountable for achieving (within the limits of each student's abilities) the objectives of each learning experience.

c.      The Superintendent of Schools should hold administrators, teachers, and other employees accountable for working with diligent effort and with intelligence and imagination in achieving the objectives directly related to their stated job responsibilities.

d.     The Board of School Directors should appoint the most capable person available to hold the office of Superintendent of Schools and should hold him/her accountable for providing creative professional leadership and consultation in all aspects of the school district's program.

e.      The Board of School Directors should also hold itself accountable for carrying out its mandate to plan, to make policy, and to lead in the identification of goals and objectives and resources necessary for their achievement.

f.      The Board of School Directors hopes that the public will take an active and constructive role in assisting both the Board and administration to provide the resources necessary for the Board and total staff to accomplish the publicly endorsed goals and objectives of the Reading School District.

In the researching and developing certain policies that would affect district personnel, the Board of School Directors may seek out the judgment and counsel of the appropriate personnel before acting on such policies.

Section 4.    Executive

      SC 508, 1001

The Board shall exercise its executive power by the appointment of a district Superintendent, who shall enforce the statutes of the Commonwealth, the regulations of the State Board of Education, the policies of the Board, and all other applicable laws and regulations.

Delegation by the Board of School Directors of its executive powers to the Superintendent provides freedom for the Superintendent to manage the schools within the framework of the Board's policies and frees the Board to devote its time to policy making and appraisal functions.

The Board of School Directors holds the Superintendent responsible for carrying out its policies within established guidelines and for keeping the Board informed about school operations. The Superintendent shall be the liaison between the Board and the total school district staff.

      SC 510

The Superintendent shall be responsible for the preparation of administrative guidelines for the operation of the school district that are not inconsistent with state and federal statutes or regulations; are dictated by the policies of this Board; and are binding on district employees and students when issued and require Board approval prior to distribution.

In his/her efforts to keep the Board of School Directors informed, the Superintendent shall notify Board members as promptly as possible of any happenings of an emergency nature which occur in the schools.

The Superintendent is in charge of the schools. S/He shall report all significant developments and actions to the Board at the first opportunity.

The administration of the Reading School District shall be delegated to the Superintendent, who shall administer the schools in accordance with the written policies and directions established by the Board of School Directors.

The Superintendent, in his/her discretion, may delegate to other school personnel the exercise of any powers and the discharge of any duties in order to aid in the management of the schools. This delegation of power or duty, however, shall not relieve the Superintendent of his/her responsibility for actions taken under such delegation.

All staff members throughout the district have the responsibility for adhering to the policies adopted by the Board and for abiding by the administrative regulations designed to implement them.

All directives to employees of the district shall be given by the constituted authorities designated by resolution of the Board of School Directors.

If any member of the Board, acting as an individual, shall attempt to give directives to employees, those employees shall not be discharged, disciplined, or discriminated against for refusal or failure to observe such directives and shall report such attempts to the Board President.

      65 Pa. C.S.A.

      Sec. 1101 et seq

The Superintendent shall implement a procedure to inform Board members and designated employees of their responsibility under the Ethics Law.

Section 5.    Management By Objectives

It is the intent of the Board of School Directors, working through its Superintendent, to approach the responsibility for the operation of the school system through management by objectives. This technique will include:

a.      Setting objectives for the performance and function in the system.

b.     Allowing people responsible for carrying out objectives to have a role in setting them.

c.      Establishing practical and simple goals.

d.     Conducting a concrete and periodic review of performance against these goals.

For this approach to succeed, the Board of School Directors realizes that its objectives for the system must be compatible with the objectives of the district's administrators and teachers. Goals are set cooperatively in a superior-subordinate meeting. The Board's contact with the system in planning shall be directly through the Superintendent. His/Her contacts throughout the system shall reflect the organization which s/he feels appropriate to execute the business and educational functions of the Reading School District.

In situations which arise within the school where the Board has offered no guides for administrative action, the Superintendent shall have the power to act, but his/her actions shall be reported promptly to the Board.

Section 6.    Review

      SC 510, 1126

      et seq

The Board may assume jurisdiction over controversies or disputes arising within this school district concerning any matter over which the Board has authority granted by statute or where the Board has retained jurisdiction in contract or policies.

      2 Pa. C.S.A.

      Sec. 551 et seq

In furtherance of its adjudicatory function, the Board may hold hearings in accordance with law which shall offer the parties to a dispute, on notice duly given, a fair and impartial forum for the resolution of the matter.

School Code

301, 407, 508, 510, 511, 1001, 1126

et seq

PA Statute

2 Pa. C.S.A.

Sec. 551 et seq

PA Statute

65 Pa. C.S.A.

1101 et seq

Board Policy

006, 007